Dosha governs the health patterns and susceptibility to diseases of a person. 3 Dosha Vata, Pitta and Kapha are like 3 legs of a tripod on which the health is based. Any of the legs is disturbed, the health gets imbalanced. In every person, there is a constitution based on the 3 Dosha, which is also called the Prakruti or the health pattern of the person. Prakruti depends on the natural tendency of Dosha in the person. There are total 10 kinds of Prakruti depending on the combination of the 3 Dosha. More about Dosha
General Functions of Balanced Dosha:
Some examples of Prakruti –
- Vata Pitta Kapha
- Vata Kapha Pitta etc…
The Prakruti is made of 3 Dosha in a hierarchy according to their importance in the body; the most prominent, lesser and the least effective Dosha, according to the extent of the effect they have on overall constitution respectively. Every person is born with his Prakruti.
Your health is governed by your constitution, your Prakriti!
Imagine a bowl full of matter which you are carrying and you have to prevent the matter from falling, evaporating or freezing. Some substances will have a tendency to fall, some will evaporate and some might freeze in the same environment. So first you need to know which type your matter is and then you need to have different arrangements accordingly to preserve it.
Water in the bowl will have a tendency to spill and fall, so you need to cover the pot and walk slowly (Vata). Consider petrol, it will evaporate or even catch fire so you need a cooler temperature for it (Pitta). If the substance freezes or has a tendency to solidify, then it is very convenient. It is most stable and easy to carry thing (Kapha). Kaphaj people, if they take good care of their body, are considered to be the healthiest people.
Prakriti decides the way your body functions in normal conditions.
Prakruti also decides the ailments that you can be more prone to (but unfortunately it does not decide a disease that you will never catch, that is why Dosha are called so. Dosha means the one which spoils…). Also, the symptoms of the same disease will be different and will have different magnitude according to individual Prakruti.
For example, a person with Vata Prakruti will be more prone to itching; another person with Pitta Prakruti will be prone to more swelling or burning sensation in the same medical condition. Likewise, a person with Kapha Prakruti can feel heaviness or numbness.
Prakruti with the predominance of Vata is called Vataj, vice versa Pittaj and Kaphaj Prakruti.
10 Prakruti types are
- Vata
- Pitta
- Kapha
- Vata Pitta
- Vata Kapha
- Pitta Vata
- Pitta Kapha
- Kapha Vata
- Kapha Pitta
- Vata Pitta Kaphaj
There are certain features that are characteristic to each Prakruti according to the Dosha governing it.
It is important to know your Prakriti just like your blood group. Prakriti is the single most important decisive factor in all kinds of Ayurvedic treatments.